


Riders

by AmaliaIR



Series: Drabbles [33]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/F, Ginsy, horseback ridera au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-03
Updated: 2018-08-03
Packaged: 2019-06-21 06:19:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15551526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmaliaIR/pseuds/AmaliaIR





	Riders

“So, which one is yours?”

Ginny turned around, startled. She thought the stable was empty, but apparently she has missed the other small girl who sat in a corner looking at the horses.

Ginny blushed. “Mine?”

The girl got to her feet and walked over to Ginny. She had long, shining black hair which was pulled back by two clips in the shape of horses. Ginny instantly fell in love with them and planned to ask where she had got them, but the girl spoke first.

“Yes, your horse. It must be one of the new ones, because I hadn’t seen you here before.” The girl had an accent that Ginny’s mother would have called ‘poshity posh’, and judging by her clothes and demeanour, Ginny could tell that was true.

“N-none of them,” Ginny said shyly, twirling a strand of red hair in her finger. “I don’t have a horse.”

The girl looked taken aback and then narrowed her eyes at Ginny. “Then why are you here?”

Ginny shrugged. “I like to look at them. I always make my mum stop the car when we drive by so I can look at them for a while.”

Ginny turned back to the big, beautiful creatures in front of them. They were resting calmly in their stalls, some eating, some scratching their heads against the wood, some simply standing there quietly.

“Oh,” the other girl said after a moment. “Then you’re going to love looking at mine, come.” She grabbed Ginny’s hand unexpectedly, making Ginny jump, but she followed as this girl dragged her to the far end of the stable. They stopped in front of the last horse, which was dark black, tall, and unbelievably gorgeous.

“This is Stella,” said the girl. “My dad got her for me when I turned six, and she even has the same birthday as me!”

Ginny forced her eyes away from the mare to look at the girl, who was staring up at Stella with big, proud eyes.

“Wow,” Ginny exhaled. “You have your own horse.”

The girl nodded. “Just the one for now. But dad says that if I get really good at it, I can have more. Stella will always be my favourite, though.”

Ginny looked from the mare to the girl and back. They were quiet for awhile, merely admiring Stella’s impressive beauty.

“I’m Pansy,” the girl said as she offered her hand firmly to Ginny.

“Ginny.” They shook hands and Ginny saw a mischievous glint in the girl’s dark eyes.

“Alright Ginny,” Pansy said with a smirk. “Want to go for a ride?”

.

Ginny returned many times, but she never ran into Pansy again. She did hear of her regularly, the girl was famous in the business, winning every children, teen, and young adult major competition internationally, so Ginny thought she had decided to move abroad for good. She never forgot that first encounter, though, or the wild ride that followed, which prompted an hours-long search for two little girls who sneaked out with a horse unsupervised.

“Your mother tells me you’ve taken a liking to this one,” Henry, the hostler in this place, told Ginny as he stroked the long neck of the horse between them. “He’s a beauty.”

Ginny nodded as she also pet the soft shiny brown hair. “Yes, he’s definitely the one,” Ginny said.

After years of part-time jobs, miserable prize money in competitions, and putting together every last penny her family could afford, Ginny was finally ready to get her own horse. She had been getting by with horses that weren’t hers, but if she really wanted to make it to the Royal Ascot, she had to have her own.

“You’ve got great taste.” Henry handed Ginny the reins. “Why don’t you watch him while I go settle the payment?”

Ginny nodded and handed Henry the envelope with the money. “Thank you so much, Henry.”

Ginny was about to mount her own horse, Arnold, for the very first time. Her heart thumped with excitement at the thought of all the things she would be able to do and learn now that she had Arnold by her side.

“What is the meaning of this?”

If Ginny would have thought harder about that voice before turning around, she might have recognised it. It was still the same extravagant high-pitch voice, only this time it sounded angry. Pansy stood there, looking very different from what Ginny remembered. She was almost the same height as Ginny, but the heels of her riding boots might make them equal. Her hair was short now, not even touching her shoulders, and she was wearing the kind of makeup Ginny associated with movie stars.

“Pansy!” Ginny said with a smile.

But Pansy wasn’t smiling, in fact she was downright scowling at Ginny, her arms crossed over her chest and her hips thrusted to one side. “What are you doing with Sir James?”

Ginny frowned. “Sir James?” she followed Pansy’s gaze to the horse next to her and Ginny laughed. “Oh, you mean Arnold? I just bought him!”

Pansy’s mouth fell open. “What? He’s the best jumping horse in the stables!”

Ginny shrugged, now really starting to get annoyed by Pansy’s attitude. “Yes. And now he’s mine.”

“Unbelievable,” Pansy exclaims and shakes her head. “I go to France to train for a few months every year and when I come back this place is always falling apart!”

“Excuse me but-” Ginny started but Pansy interrupted.

“So you’re a rider now? I guess that ride we took when we were children really inspired you no? That’s cute.” She started walked towards Ginny, eyeing her up and down.

Ginny felt her face heat up with anger. “I was a rider way before you showed up,” she snapped, pushing her long hair out of her face so she could give Pansy the dirtiest look she could munster.

Pansy laughed, a cold and somehow pleasing sound. “A rider without a horse. How old are you now? Eighteen? They say you only really start practicing when you do it with your own horse. So good luck with that.”

Pansy was right in front of her now, her dark eyes shining with amusement.

“When did you become such a bitch?” Ginny shook her head in disbelief. “Are you afraid I’m going to steal your crown now that I have my own competition-regulated horse? Because maybe you realize that that’s the only thing keeping me from beating you.”

Something flickered in Pansy’s eyes, but it was gone far too quickly. Ginny wasn’t just saying that to spite her; she knew she was very good, but this sport was for people with money who could get the gear, the land, the competition fees, and of course the horses. Ginny had only ever competed with other people’s horses and in very local events, but she had been a favourite since the first time she entered an official race.

Pansy smirked, her shiny red lips drawing Ginny’s full attention for a second. “I’ll see you on the tracks, princess.”

The way she spoke the last word send shivers down Ginny’s spine, and Pansy had walked past her before she could think of an appropriate response. She stomped down her foot in anger and started muttering to herself about how she would made Pansy Parkinson eat dirt, when Arnold nudged Ginny on the back with his muzzle. Ginny turned around and started petting him, smiling despite everything.

.

Ginny had almost lost count of the number of races where she had competed against Pansy. Almost was the key word, though, because Ginny could still remember that she had won twenty of them, while Pansy had only managed fifteen. Their animosity grew with each passing event, and if Ginny had thought that Pansy was a bitch before, she had clearly not been prepared for the way she was now. It got to the point where everybody else knew how much they disliked each other and would disappear if the two of them were practicing on the tracks, or caring for their horses on the stables, or even drinking water in the same vicinity.

But Ginny was winning and no one could take that away from her, not even Pansy.

The last few events of the season were approaching fast, and Ginny was training harder than ever. For weeks there was nothing in her life but riding, eating, and barely sleeping, but she loved every second of it. She was up before dawn every day to take care of Arnold and be the first on the tracks so she could practice jumps as well as speed, and then she was usually the last to leave each evening.

The night before one of the final races she was still in the stable at nine and for a moment considered just staying there until the next day, maybe she’d sleep better on the hay than on her own bed, especially after having to do the dishes that inevitable awaited her at home. She had missed to many of her chores lately that she was sure her brothers had left her every single dish, fork, and pan as dirty as they could.

“Leaving already?”

The familiar voice startled Ginny, and she spun around to find Pansy at the entrance, leaning against the wall and still wearing all her gear while she chewed bubble gum.

Ginny scoffed and threw her bag over her shoulders. “I do have a life outside of here, unlike some people.”

Pansy had the nerve to laugh, all white teeth and rose lip gloss. “Don’t be silly. I don’t have a life because I’m serious about what I do. You don’t have a life because you literally can’t.” She blew out a pink bubble of gum and then pulled it into her mouth, popping it with her tongue against the roof of her mouth.

Ginny stomped closer, narrowing her eyes at the other girl. “Must be easy not having to care about anything else because daddy handles all,” she challenged, feeling her blood boiling. “Daddy pays your bills while you ride. Daddy hires the help and the cooks while you ride. Daddy sells you to dukes and princes while you ride so you can have a safe future when you get too old for the only thing you’re decent at doing.”

Ginny realized immediately how far she had gone. Is not like things hadn’t gotten bad and dirty before, but never so fast. Pansy seemed taken aback for a split second before she pushed herself off the wall and closed the distance between them, her impossibly dark eyes dangerous. Again, her boots gave her a slight height advantage on Ginny, but that didn’t scare Ginny. Pansy had stopped chewing, her mouth closed tightly as she seized Ginny up, as if figuring out the best way to make her hurt, and Ginny knew that they could hurt each other, but she still wasn’t scared. If Pansy wanted a fight, that’s what she would get. Ginny dropped her bag to the floor.

For a moment everything was quiet and Ginny could only focus on the building tension between herself and Pansy, wondering how it would finally break. Maybe with an insult? Or straight up punching?

Then Pansy spoke, low, soft, and dangerous. “I don’t do princes.”

And Ginny was suddenly very scared.

Pansy leaned in before Ginny could process what was happening, but it became clear within a few seconds that Pansy was kissing her, her glossy lips soft and warm against Ginny’s, and Ginny didn’t know what to do because she had never expected something less in her life. Her heart thumped rapidly inside her frozen chest, and then probably because she wasn’t moving, Pansy thought it safe to raise her arms and wrap them around Ginny’s neck. It had been the right call not to put her hands on Ginny first, because she would have thought it was an attack. Not that this kiss didn’t feel like an attack, but a far nicer one than what Ginny had anticipated.

So nice in fact, that Ginny had started kissing back without really noticing. Her lips moved against Pansy’s and her hands had settled on her waist, feeling the expensive fabric of Pansy’s jacket. Ginny could feel all their pent up emotions pouring out into the kiss as it got faster and deeper, their tongues moving together swiftly and both of them pulling the other impossibly closer. Pansy’s hands lowered down to the front of Ginny’s flannel button down and bunched the fabric in her fists with a strength and desperation that made Ginny burn from the inside. And also, she tasted like cherry lipstick and bubblegum.

Ginny tightened her grip on Pansy’s waist and began pushing her back, not really sure of what she was doing until the back of Pansy’s knees hit the hay bales and they both went down, Ginny falling awkwardly on top of Pansy and finally coming to her senses as she did it.

She pulled away and scrambled to her feet, hitting Pansy with her elbow by mistake.

“Sorry,” Ginny breathed out, her chest rising and falling rapidly.

Pansy sat up on the hay, looking more disheveled that Ginny had ever seen her, even though her face was totally composed. She stared up at Ginny for a moment, eyes searching her face, and then she started chewing her gum again.

Ginny frowned, her confusion breaking through her previous shock at what she’d done. How in the world had Pansy kept her gum while kissing without Ginny noticing?

“We shouldn’t have,” Ginny said, trying to keep her eyes away from Pansy’s mouth. She ran her hands through her hair, trying to think clearly.

Pansy stood up. “And why not?”

“Because…” Ginny backed away one step. “Because I don’t like you.”

Pansy’s lips twitched. “It didn’t feel like it.”

Ginny’s cheeks felt hot. “Well…I…” Ginny needed a reason, she just needed it. “I like boys.”

One of Pansy’s eyebrows rose so high, Ginny was sure it was mocking her.

“We’re rivals!” she almost shouted, her brain finally falling back into a logical place. They were rivals, always trying to best the other, and hating each other for far too long for it to be just a phase.

Pansy took a step towards Ginny, and this time Ginny didn’t back down. “Do you really think that I’m going to let you win just because we’re kissing behind closed doors? Come on princess, you know me better than that.”

Ginny felt her pulse quickening again, and her eyes betrayed her and fell on Pansy’s pink-smudged lips.

“And I know you too. So I’m confident that we’ll remain just as rivalrous as ever, perhaps even more.” She reached up and took a strand of Ginny’s hair between her fingers, looking at it with a small smile. “But if you don’t think you can handle it, I understand.”

Ginny played with Pansy’s words in her mind for a long time, or perhaps just a second.

“Shut up and spit the gum,” Ginny snapped before Pansy did as she was told.

Ginny grabbed Pansy’s head and crashed their lips together, flushing her body against the other girl and ignoring the way she could feel Pansy smirking.

Neither of them stopped to say a thing or even breathe for what felt like days, but as much as she was enjoying this, Ginny couldn’t let herself get too carried away. After all, a few minutes ago Pansy was nothing but her enemy.

She reluctantly broke the kiss and looked into Pansy’s blown pupils.

Pansy brushed Ginny’s hair away from her face. She seemed to be understanding what going through Ginny’s mind, because she smiled and it felt private, secretive.

“Alright Ginny,” Pansy said as she took Ginny’s hand and started leading her towards the horses. “Want to fo for a ride?”


End file.
